Free From The Prison of Unforgiveness

In case you think that this blog post will be a familiar retelling of this parable on forgiveness, then I would caution you to consider that you are probably mistaken, and if not, then you will be a rare person indeed who has learned this truth, and if so, you would not mind reading it shared again, since it is an astounding revelation of forgiveness that is not well known, but has the capacity to change your life in a momentous way. Read on to see if I am over stating this.

 I have always found it exciting to discover some new understanding in a scripture passage, that opens my eyes to seeing something that I never considered or knew before; usually a truth that unlocks a greater hidden meaning.  In Proverbs 25:2 it says: "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of a king to search out a matter." And while much could be said to expound that verse, I cite it only to draw attention to searching out a hidden meaning in a parable that Jesus told to the disciples on the subject of forgiveness. 

The parable is found in Matt 18:21-35 and is known as the parable of the unforgiving servant, or the wicked servant if you were to be more to the point. This comes on the heels of Jesus already telling Peter to forgive 70 times 7 as stated in the previous post.

It is important to point out that rabbi's taught in a different way than most teachers do today. Rabbis aren't interested in telling you the answer, but rather leading you to discover the answer for yourself. Rabbis point the way. It is up to the student to go look for themselves. We are told that Jesus only taught in parables. (Mark 4:34), and if you think about it, how many lessons have you learned from reading Aesop's fables?

Now, rather than rehash what is already known about this parable, I will focus rather on the concluding lesson in the last verses. Matt 18:34: " And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him." That seems pretty clear doesn't it? Or does it? Who exactly is the "he" and "him" mentioned in this parable? That depends on who you think the Master is in the parable as well, because it is very common to consider that the Master is God, and the unforgiving servant therefore must pay back the Master, all of the debt that he was originally forgiven! But doesn't that then make God's forgiveness dependent on your actions? Do you think that God will forgive and then take back His forgiveness? Seems to be what is said doesn't it, and that is always the way I was taught, but I must credit Marty Solomon, the host of the BEMA Podcast for this insight which I pass on you to, so read on and see if this other explanation does not clear up the message being told and still give honor to God.

There are three characters in this parable. The Master, the wicked servant, and the fellow servant. The key factor to consider is the truth that when a debt is forgiven, it does not go away, but rather is absorbed by the one who forgives! When the Master forgave the enormous debt of the wicked servant, the Master has to absorb that debt upon himself; the only difference is that that servant is released from having to pay what is owed, but that Master says in effect, I will pay the debt you owe me, so that you are released from any obligation to pay. 

It is as if you run up an enormous debt with a credit card of say, one million dollars, and cannot pay, and the credit card company says, you are forgiven your debt, that means that they have to come up with the money themselves to cover the debt; you no longer have to pay anything back. It is as if you never had any debt to pay. However, that debt does not disappear, it just becomes the obligation of the credit company to pay the expense as if it is their own debt.

So, now the wicked servant finds the fellow servant and demands payment. Consider what just happened here. If the wicked servant had learned his lesson from his having just been forgiven, he would have then absorbed the fellow servants debt, and not held it against him, the same way the Master absorbed his own debt! THAT is the lesson the Master is trying to teach in the parable. 

The wicked servant is not thrown into jail until he pays the Master all the previous debt he was forgiven for earlier, but rather until he (the wicked servant) pays all that he (the fellow servant) owes him (the wicked servant). In other words,  the wicked servant has to learn to absorb the debt that is owed himself from the fellow servant just as the Master absorbed his debt!  The wicked servant has put himself in a prison of his own making, by harboring unforgiveness,  and the Master has  given him the key to getting out! Learning to forgive what is owed to him just as he has been forgiven, is the key to being released; not learning that lesson is the (self) torture it talks about him suffering!

When you harbor un-forgiveness, then it is a prison of self torture! Hate, bitterness, anger, rage, fuming, all of these things are torture to your own well being and peace of mind. But if you learn to absorb the debt that others owe to you, like God has absorbed the debt of our sin, then you now have the key to get out of the prison of your own making, and living a life of peace and joy!

God's lesson on forgiveness is not 70 times 7, or any limited number, or even making it a habit to forgive,  it is learning the principle of living a life Free From The Prison of Unforgiveness